Invasion of land by squatters in Kilifi scares away investors

Houses burnt by hired youths on a disputed 230-acre piece of land in Kilifi. Police chased away the locals saying the land is private property. PHOTO | KAZUNGU SAMUEL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The menace has kept investors at bay, in a wait-and-see stance even after buying land.

  • The invaders claim most of the land belonged to their forefathers and that they have a right to inherit it.

  • In some instances, lives have been lost after police moved in to evict the squatters.

Authorities are concerned about the re-emergence of land invasions in Kilifi County, which have scared away investors.

Coast Regional Police Commander Larry Kieng Monday vowed to deal with people who invade land, claiming ownership.

“We will deal with them as the security team,” said Mr Kieng.

Mavuni is one of the areas worst hit by the invasions, with cartels identifying land whose owners are absent and invading it.

A survey by Nation indicated that invasion of land by people purporting to be squatters had reached an alarming rate.

ABSENTEE LANDLORDS

Some locals have, for the last five years, formed a habit of invading undeveloped land or that owned by absentee landlords.

Some influential personalities have also been fronting locals to grab land, beach plots and prime properties, especially those owned by foreigners.

The menace has kept investors at bay, in a wait-and-see stance even after buying land.

The invaders claim most of the land belonged to their forefathers and that they have a right to inherit it.

In some instances, lives have been lost after police moved in to evict the squatters.

Interviews by the Nation yesterday indicated that the invaders have mainly been targeting undeveloped land for sub-division on the pretext of being squatters.

INVASIONS

For the past five years, Ihaleni community has been invading land privately owned by a firm, Kilifi Plantation, at Mavuni near Kilifi Town.

According to the group’s spokesman, Mr James Mramba, they have been pushing to get the land and their quest will not stop.

“I am leading a group of 5,000 squatters to get the 4,200 acres of land. We are aware that the lease for the parcels expired between 1987 and 2013. We expected the county to apply and get the land back to the community, but the land was advertised for sale. We will not allow that and that is why we invaded it,” he said.

The group was, however, chased away by police and there is now a court order barring any activity on the land.

His sentiments are shared by Mr Ali Khamis, the secretary-general of Kibarani Ward Progressive Association (Kiwapa), a group of about 3,500 families claiming ownership of 350 acres belonging to Kenya Cashewnuts Factory near Kilifi town.

RE-GROUPED

The squatters have been living on the land for four years. At one time, they were evicted by police but re-grouped and returned.

“We have a court order that had declared status quo on the land. But because we are already on the land, we shall continue to stay until the government allocates us this land,” he said.

Mr Khamis said the land was the group’s ancestral home and apart from that, their parents and grandparents had control of 65 per cent of shares in the defunct cashew nut factory and were to be compensated after it collapsed.

“We are targeting even the factory and we shall take it. It is our right because the factory changed hands without our involvement,” he said.

It has been the same battle for over 10 years at Kiwandani between squatters from Nayeni/Mbuyuni Association and the owners of 230 acres at Bofa.

The land has been the target of invasions.

BUILD HOMES

The squatters have now decided to build homes on the disputed land, even after the National Land Commission (NLC) last year gazetted British owner Tonny Stubs and his family as the owners.

Speaking in an interview, Nayeni chairman Michael Mataza said they will not leave the land they call their ancestral home.

“We have built houses and we will not move out of that land,” said Mr Mataza.

Documents at the land office in Kilifi showed that the national government issued 79,471 titles in 2016 to Kilifi County residents.

In June last year, the government again issued another 5,657 title deeds in the county where Kilifi South Sub-county got the lion’s share with its three settlement schemes awarded.

A national government official, who sought anonymity because she is not authorised to speak to the press, said the land problems have been caused by family disputes, and the move by locals to encroach on private land with impunity.

FAMILY CONFLICTS

“I have studied the land wrangles, especially in Kilifi South, and I discovered that apart from the invasion of locals on private lands, some of them are indeed family land conflicts playing out in the open, but closely guarded to make it appear like people have invaded,” she added.

The invasions have rattled security agents, who are now issuing warnings to any person who will be implicated in invading another person’s land.

Mr Kieng said invasions in Kilifi and Mombasa had reduced, but police were on high alert to act whenever a person tries to invade another person’s property.

He cautioned that there was no idle land at the coast.

“Invasions have reduced in Kilifi and Mombasa. They were reported earlier but slowly, sanity is returning to the sector. But our stand as security is that we will not allow people to invade another person’s land,” he added.